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Texas and Insurance Law

Dating from 2012, Texas experienced an uprising in insurance claims related to wind and weather damage – and many of these claims also involved claims adjusters or lawyers, according to published statistics. of the meeting of a state legislature with the Texas Insurance Department, among other alarming statistical increases related to the lawsuits released after the February 2017 meeting. This spurred the formation of the Texas Hailstorm Bill, which is expected to come into effect in early September.

One of the most important effects that the Hailstorm Bill will address is the large number of lawsuits filed against insurers of Damage and Property (Note that the bill does not affect claims, but lawsuits) by requiring that the insured policy holder give at least 61 days notice that a lawsuit is even filed against an insurer. This is intended to give the insurer the time to address the issue directly with a chance to settle it outside the court system. What some may consider a disadvantage, however, is that interest rate payments that normally apply to insureds if their insurer does not comply with Chapter 542 of the Texas Insurance Code will strongly reduced from 18% to 10%. ]

Many speculate that this Hailstorm bill will only add headaches to the process of filing lawsuits for insurance companies that some claim ] abuse of their insureds . According to Bob Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, "it is less likely that lawyers want to take even good deals."

Although the new law appears to be put in place to protect insurance companies from numerous lawsuits, Hunter believes that many insurers are acting appropriately, thereby limiting the overall impact of the law, because it would only serve to protect insurers. it serves at all.

Hunter notes however that there is a great need for reform and restructuring beyond the Hailstorm bill, particularly the National Flood Insurance Program, which falls under the federal authority . He mentions the need to update the maps of flood zones and allow rates to increase and respond to the actuarial, which he holds responsible Congress.

Hunter, former chief actuary of the NFIP, also cites the experience of Hurricane Katrina and Sandy Superstorm. "… there will be a lot of lawsuits filed in the end, because there are still problems after these major events." He says the Hailstorm Bill will only cause a second crisis when everything will be settled by the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey.

others claim that the Hailstorm Bill is a necessity to repel lawyers and happy entrepreneurs who do not receive immediate attention after the devastation of weather events such as Harvey as well as to encourage Claims Adjusters Out of the State Coming to work in Texas as a result of the horrific event to respond to the claim for claims insurance that will have to be settled. There are also arguments that Texas maintains high standards for insurance claims (as well as lawsuits, stating that underwriters can claim up to three times the total amount of coverage after insurers or insurers acting in bad faith); and the law has no impact on the filing of such claims and does not impose any kind of delay on behalf of the first party taker.